The following are comments from our users. Attributed with permission, otherwise anonymous. The letters are in chronological order, but here are some shortcuts arranged by topic:
From: Peter Bruells <Peter.bruells@informatik.uni-oldenburg.de>
Date: Tue, 02 Apr 1996 23:09:20 +0100
I think there's some item missing: The marvelizer....
Enabling the Marvelizer would give the source "mutant" a better chance.
When I asked for 20 names, barely 1 of them was a mutant -- somewhat disconcerting these days. :-)
Regards
Peter
You have an excellent point, Peter. We have now implemented it, so
let us know what you think! Thank you for your comments.
-- The Management
From: stev0@zuni.chaco.com (Steve Berlin)
Subject: Your page
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 23:36:49 -0700
Hi -
I recently saw your site, http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/herogen/herogen.cgi on Yahoo!, with a note to have someone submit it to The Useless Pages.
Well, fear no more, I saw it myself (no one submitted it), and I added it to The Useless Pages.
- Steve
From: [name removed] [e-mail address removed]
Subject: Space Boomerang
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 1996 15:48:19 -0500
Your web site is very amusing, but one item is incorrect. A superhero is listed as using a Space Boomerang as a weapon. Boomerangs are not weapons: they are sporting items. Boomerangs are not and never were used as weapons, throw sticks were. On behalf of the United States Boomerang Association, I ask that you remove or change that entry. It gives the public misinformation on an already poorly understood subject. To find out more about boomerangs or if you don't believe me, check out this site:
http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~brazelto/USBAinfo.html
Thank you for your time,
[name removed]
Mr. [removed],
I assure you that no offense is meant by anything in the Super-Hero
Generator. I refer you to the note on each page of generated entries
that states:
"If any of the above names are trademarked or offensive,
it's purely a coincidence. Try again."
The page is intended only for fun, not to be taken too seriously.
The inspiration to include boomerangs on the "weapons" list came from the comic books themselves. Both of the "big two" comic book comapnies have characters that use trick or gimmick boomerangs as weapons. DC's character is Captain Boomerang, while Marvel's is simply called Boomerang. Perhaps a better (or at least better known) example is Bat-Man and his "batarangs".
I should also point out that weapon, at least as far as the Super-Hero Generator is concerned, is something of a misnomer. The fictional devices listed aren't necessarily offensive weaponary. In fact, if you examine the list, you'll discover that armor, shield, and lasso are amongst the list of "weapons." Indeed, even the Hypertext Webster interface defines weapon as "an instrument of offensive or defensive [my emphasis] combat." The Super-Hero Generator should probably read "tools" instead of "weapons," but that just doesn't have as good a ring to it where super-heroes are concerned. (And it seems fairly likely that the boomerang can be considered a tool. [I had a link here but it seems to have gone down.])
In short, I'm afraid I won't be removing boomerang from the list. However, in an effort to educate users, I will include your letter (and this response) in the Hero Mail section. Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Lee Seitz
From: "Nathan S. Phillips" (nathan@cy-net.net)
Subject: New Super Hero
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 09:16:08 -0700
I used your Super Hero Generator to come up with:
The fantastic Frog Rakoon
Weapon: Frog Neutralizer
Vehicle: Frog Submarine
Source of powers: Mutant
First off, I busted a gut laughing (literally - you will be hearing from my attorney regarding medical expenses).
Secondly, if I base a comic book on the Fantastic Frog Rakoon, do you get royalties?
--
Nathan S. Phillips
http://www2.cy-net.net/~nathan
Hmmm. Interesting question. Would my royalties be more than those medical expenses? 8) Okay, seriously, I make no copyright or trademark claims on any names generated (particularly since some are already trademarked). All I would like is a line of credit where generated names are actually used. Something like, "Fantastic Frog Rakoon name generated by Lee Seitz's (Useless) Super-Hero Generator (http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/herogen/)."
Lee Seitz,
still trying to picture a "Frog Rakoon."
From: [afan]@[a.school].edu.sg
Subject: Permission
Date: [Messed up on his system]
The Lee's (Useless) Super Hero Generator is a very good page. I would like to seek permission to use the Super Hero Generator on my homepage. But I don't know how to can, you teach me and give me the files required for it to work?. Credit will be given to you. Please reply back.
From,
[A fan in Singapore]
I'm sorry, but I prefer to keep it available only from my own pages. I'm afraid I don't have time to update it as I'd like, must less teach someone else what needs to be done to install it.
Plese note, however, that I have no objections to people re-creating the Generator in whatever form they want. I prefer not to give out my source code, however, for security reasons.
Lee Seitz
From: [Lots of people]
Just wanted you to know, I loved your site and have added a link from mine. (I hope you don't mind.) Could you return the favor? Thanks.
I always like to hear from people who like the Generator and appreciate links to it. Please make sure you are using the proper URL (http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/herogen/) because the site has gone through many minor URL changes since it was created and the older URLs seem to persist.
I regret that I cannot provide reciprocal links to everyone. If I did, I'd spend all my time keeping the links up to date and never spend any time on the fun parts. (As I write this, there are over 150 links to the Generator.) I appreciate your understanding.
Lee Seitz
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